


Looking for Work

by sarahgirl1998



Series: Lumpy's Crossover Adventures [35]
Category: Multi-Fandom
Genre: Comedy, Crossover, Female Sneezing, Friendship, Gen, Grocery Shopping, Humor, Male & Female Sneezing, Male Sneezing, Money, Multiple Crossovers, Running Errands, Sneezing, Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27340294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: Lumpy does favors for the people of Multimedia so he can earn money for himself.
Series: Lumpy's Crossover Adventures [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/889104
Kudos: 1





	Looking for Work

It was a lovely morning in Multimedia, the beginning of a brand new day. Lumpy had gotten up, taken a warm shower, brushed his teeth and put on some odorless deodorant. He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, all with a smile upon his face.

"I wonder what I'll have for breakfast this morning," Lumpy said to himself. "Maybe I can have some pancakes or waffles..."

Lumpy walked up to the refrigerator, placed his hand on the handle and pulled it open. He looked through each shelf in the fridge for something appetizing. But there wasn't anything he wanted to eat; he was out of pancake mix, and he couldn't find any bacon, donuts, muffins or any other convenient breakfast food he thought he had.

"Hmm, nothing in here." Lumpy shrugged to himself and pushed the door closed. "What's in the freezer?"

He reached up to open the freezer door and looked in there as well. But there wasn't anything in there, either; no waffles, TV dinners, or even his favorite macaroni and cheese meals. Lumpy sulked as he closed the door to the freezer.

"I'm pretty much all out of my favorite foods..." Lumpy lamented in disappointment. "I'll just have to go and buy some more."

Lumpy went out of the kitchen and climbed back up the stairs, until he had made his way into his bedroom. He picked up his wallet and looked inside, but there was only a single dollar bill inside. Lumpy placed the wallet in his pocket, then picked up his coin bank, which felt quite light. He pulled off the lid and poured out the contents of the can into his hand.

But the only things that came out were a couple of quarters and pennies. Fifty three little cents. Lumpy took a deep breath and sighed sadly.

"I don't have enough money for anything..." said Lumpy. But he slipped the coins into his pockets and placed the lid back on the bank. "I guess there's only one thing to do. I've gotta find some work."

Lumpy placed the coin bank back where he'd gotten it, and then picked up his smartphone before he headed out of his bedroom. He walked down the stairs, then opened up the front door before he left his house. Lumpy made his way down the small number of steps outside his front door, and then walked away from his house. Seeing the town that was a few miles away from him, he turned and started towards it.

"Good thing this place is full of people... and animals and Pokemon," Lumpy said to himself. "I'll probably have a lot of money to spend once I'm done helping everyone."

As Lumpy walked, he saw that it was a beautiful day; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the sky was a lovely blue shade with only a few white clouds in the sky. A nice day to find some part time jobs, Lumpy thought. Finally he was at the town square, and he stopped by the first place he could think of: the Multimedia Burger Joint.

It was one of his favorite places, for three reasons: to eat, to hang out, and to work. Lumpy made his way up to the cash register, where SpongeBob stood with that recognizable smile on his face.

"Hey, Lumpy," SpongeBob greeted him, "how can I help you?"

"Do you think I could work here for a little bit?" Lumpy asked, politely. "I need some more money."

"Sure!" said SpongeBob, and Lumpy quickly replied with a smile. "Why don't you start by wiping the tables? I'll do all the cooking around here, that's what I'm best at."

"Sounds like a deal," said Lumpy.

SpongeBob handed him a rag as well as a spray-bottle filled with cleaning fluid. It was from there that Lumpy went from one empty table to the next, spraying cleaner upon every stain he spotted and wiping it off with the rag afterward. Even tables that didn't appear dirty were cleaned as well. In a few minutes, the surfaces of every table Lumpy had cleaned were gleaming in the sunlight.

Although not without thanking him, SpongeBob then suggested that Lumpy mop the floors. He took back his rag and spray-bottle before handing him a mop as well as a bucket of water. Lumpy proceeded to mop the floors, again removing whatever stains he could find. The puddles of water he created for this were quite large, but he managed to clean them up so that nobody would slip or get their shoes or feet wet.

After a few minutes, all of the floors had been mopped, and all of them were gleaming as well. SpongeBob took back his mop and bucket before he gave Lumpy one last thing to do: to clean the dishes in the kitchen. Lumpy was more than happy to oblige; not only was he not afraid of dirt, but this task would probably pay him the most out of the other things he'd done here. So he went ahead, wiping every plate clean with the soap-covered sponge - a store-bought one, not from SpongeBob's body - and rinsing them off with clean water, until they were all spotless.

Finally, Lumpy was finished. He was glad that all of his hard work had been done, and SpongeBob was just as happy.

"Thanks for doing all this, Lumpy." The grateful sponge pulled out his wallet, reached into it and pulled out a five-dollar bill, as well as two one-dollar bills, before he handed them to Lumpy. "Here's your pay."

"Thanks, SpongeBob," said Lumpy with a smile. He placed the dollars, which were now his, in his own wallet. "Let me know if you need my help again."

"I will."

Lumpy then made his way out of the burger joint, with SpongeBob waving goodbye to him as he watched him go. Lumpy was glad that he'd made a little extra money, but he was also happy that not much time had passed since he'd started working. That meant he could find someone else to help for a few more dollars.

As Lumpy kept walking, he came across a familiar house that looked like a red mushroom. He went up to the door and knocked on it a couple of times. Almost a minute had gone by before the door opened, revealing Mario.

"Hey, Mario!" Lumpy greeted him.

"Hey, Lumpy!" Mario replied. "What brings you here, ah?"

"I was wondering if I could do something for you," Lumpy said. "Something that could help me earn a few dollars?"

"Certainly, Lumpy!" said Mario. "Could you wipe my windows? Not that they get dirty that often, I just like them clear."

"Okay," Lumpy said with a nod of understanding.

Soon Mario had filled up a bucket with water and handed it to Lumpy, along with a rag. He quickly got to work cleaning all of the windows in Mario's house, on the outsides and the insides. There was one window on the front, one window on either side, one on the back, and one on the top floor to Mario's room. Lumpy made sure every one of them was crystal clear and stainless, from the frames to the glass parts.

A few minutes went by, and Lumpy had finished wiping the windows. Mario thanked him and gave him three dollar bills, which Lumpy placed into his wallet. As he started to walk away from Mario's house, however, the moose heard a voice.

"Hey, Lumpy!"

Lumpy turned around to see Luigi, whose house was placed not too far from Mario's. It looked nearly the same as Mario's, and was even shaped like a mushroom, but the red parts of this house were green instead of red.

"Could you do me a favor and mow my lawn?" Luigi asked. "I'd do it myself, but I'm a little afraid of bugs..."

Lumpy chuckled a bit. "Sure, Luigi. I just hope you're not afraid of paying me, though."

Luigi chuckled as well, and then retrieved his lawn mower from the garage. He handed it to Lumpy and headed indoors, where he watched Lumpy start the engine. It was from there that the moose pushed the mower around, in both the front yard and the back yard. The scent of freshly cut grass smelled great, but it made Lumpy's nose tickle a little. He couldn't help but remove one hand from the handle of the lawn mower so he could rub his nose, but thankfully, he never needed to sneeze once.

By the time Lumpy had finished, all of the grass had been cut. He shut off the lawn mower and gave it back to Luigi, who thanked him and gave him three dollar bills in return. Lumpy placed these dollars in his wallet before he walked away.

After a few minutes, Lumpy stopped by the next house he saw. He made his way up to the front door and pressed his forefinger against it. A few seconds went by, and the door opened to reveal a girl that Lumpy wasn't too familiar with. She had puffy, brownish blonde hair and wore a black jacket over a dark blue top, a gray skirt and blue slippers.

"Oh, hello, Lumpy," the girl greeted him.

"Hello, FruFru," Lumpy greeted her in return. "Hope you're not too busy, but I was kind of hoping I could help you for a couple of dollars...?" He wasn't too familiar with FruFru, despite that the Harvey Girls had introduced him to her and another girl from Harvey Street before.

"As a matter of fact, you could," FruFru said. She moved out of the way so that Lumpy could come inside, and then she explained. "Would you please do me a favor and paint my fingernails?"

Lumpy nodded, and then went with her to her bedroom. As FruFru sat at her vanity, Lumpy took a brief look at each of FruFru's nails.

"What color would you like your nails, FruFru?" Lumpy wanted to know.

"Rose gold, please," said FruFru.

"Sounds pretty."

Lumpy looked through the girl's numerous bottles of nail polish, which were in varying shades of red, pink and purple. He saw colors such as cherry red, dark pink, cotton candy pink... and finally, rose gold. He picked up the bottle, removed the lid from it to reveal the brush that was attached to it, and got to work coloring FruFru's fingernails.

"You're right, FruFru, this is a really nice color," said Lumpy.

"It certainly is," FruFru replied in agreement. "But I don't see why it's called rose gold when it's more rose than gold."

She giggled a bit, and Lumpy chuckled as well. A few minutes went by, and all of FruFru's nails on her hands had been painted as well as dried. She took a moment to look at them with a satisfied smile, and then stood up.

"Thank you so, so much, Lumpy," FruFru thanked him. She reached over to her wallet, which Lumpy noticed was covered with shining gems, and then removed three dollar bills from it. She handed them to Lumpy. "I'll call you if I come up with anything else for you to do for me."

"Sounds good. Thanks, FruFru." Lumpy brought out his own wallet to place his dollars inside. "You know, you've gotten a lot nicer than you are in the show you came from. I like that."

"Yes, well..." FruFru blushed a bit. "If it weren't for the Harvey Girls, I most likely wouldn't be like this, would I? But let's talk about that some other time - you run along now."

Lumpy nodded in understanding and walked out of FruFru's house, while she stayed to wave goodbye to him. A few minutes later, Lumpy heard the faint voice of another little girl that he thought sounded like Tootie. When he turned to look at that girl, however, he saw that it wasn't Tootie, but a brown-haired girl with a little ponytail as well as a white and green dress. She was just outside her house, sitting on the curb and humming happily to herself. Lumpy smiled and walked up to her.

"Hello, Lucretia."

"Oh, hi, Mister Lumpy!" the girl called Lucretia replied. "Whatcha doing?"

"I've been helping out people I know, whether they're my best friends or just acquaintances," Lumpy said. "It's how I make money."

"Oh, that's great!" Lucretia said. She then stood up. "In fact, I've got something you can do for me for some money."

"Really? Like what?" Lumpy wanted to know.

"Could you please sweep the floors in my house? They're all a little dusty," Lucretia told him. "I could sweep them myself, but it'd probably take me forever."

"Sure, Lucretia," Lumpy said with a smile. "It'll probably take me a while, too, but I'll do my best."

"Okay, thank you!" said Lucretia. She opened up the door so that Lumpy could come inside.

The moment that Lumpy was in Lucretia's house, he picked up the closest broom he could find and got to sweeping. Lucretia hadn't been kidding; every movement of the broom brought up at least a tiny cloud of dust. To keep any of it from tickling his nose, Lumpy had to be as gentle and slow as he could. And that was what he did; he used the broom to brush every bit of dust particles, dirt and who knows what else out of every room he'd entered.

Finally, the floors of all of the rooms had been swept - Lucretia's room, her parents' bedroom, the bathroom, the hall, the kitchen and the living room. All of the dust that had been brushed off was now making a big pile that Lumpy was pushing out the front door.

"I've got all the floors cleaned, Lucretia," Lumpy said, seeing that Lucretia was watching him from outside. "What'd you like me to do with all this dust? Should I just sweep it all out?"

Lucretia thought for a moment, somehow without realizing the potential consequences. "Well, I don't see why not."

Lumpy then swept the large mound of dust right out the door - which quickly proved to be a big mistake. A massive cloud of thick dust arose from the separating mound and engulfed Lumpy and Lucretia. Before they could react, the two of them began to sneeze.

"AaaaAAAAHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOO!!! HAAAAAHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Lumpy shot his neck forwards each time he sneezed, with a good amount of spray being released from his mouth. "Haaaah... AHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOO!!! TCHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! AH-TTTCHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"HAAAH-CHEWWW!!! AAAAH-TCHUUUUU!!!" On the other hand, Lucretia's sneezes were high-pitched and squeaky, although they came with visible saliva coming out of her mouth as well. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, too preoccupied in her sneezing fit to care that she was spraying her hand. "AHHHHH-TCHYEEEWWW!!! CHYUUUUUUU!!! HAAAAAAHHHHHH-TCHEEEEWWWWW!!!"

"Aaaaaaah... Haaaaaaaaaahhhhh..." Lumpy inhaled, his eyelids lowering as his nose twitched and nostrils flared up massively. His last sneeze was going to be a big one, but it could potentially blow away all of this dust. But there was only one way to find out... "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH--"

"CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Lumpy's final sneeze sent a massive amount of wind from his mouth and nose, blowing away all of the dust that was making him and Lucretia sneeze. He then sulked, his eyes half closed as he rubbed his nose with his forefinger, as Lucretia stifled two quiet sneezes into her hand. Finally, she was done sneezing as well, and she rubbed her nose with her forefinger.

"B-bless you, Mister Lumpy..." said Lucretia, sniffling.

"Thanks. Bless you, too," Lumpy replied, still rubbing his nose. "Uh, sorry all this happened."

"It's okay. I'm just glad we don't have to worry about all that dust anymore..." Lucretia continued to rub her nose. "How about we go inside, get some tissues and wash our hands before I pay you?"

"You know, I was thinking the same thing." Lumpy sniffled as well.

After Lumpy had put the broom away, he and Lucretia headed into the bathroom. Indeed, they grabbed some tissues and blew their noses - Lucretia did this quietly, while Lumpy did this more audibly - before they wiped their noses with them. Once the two of them were feeling better, they took turns washing their hands at the sink; Lucretia washed her hands first, then Lumpy.

"But really, thank you for sweeping all the floors for me, Lumpy." Lucretia pulled out her wallet and pulled out two dollars from it, then pulled out two quarters from her other pocket. She offered them to Lumpy. "No hard feelings?"

Lumpy smiled as he took the dollars and quarters, placing the former in his wallet and the latter in his pocket. "No hard feelings. Thank you, Lucretia."

Lumpy then made his way out of Lucretia's house, waving goodbye to her as she did the same to him. After a few minutes, Lumpy had made it to the Harvey Girls' trailer. He smiled as he went up to the door and knocked on it. After almost ten seconds, the door opened to reveal Audrey.

"Hey, Lumpy! What's up?" Audrey asked.

"Hey, Audrey," greeted Lumpy. "I was wondering if there was something I could do for you. You know, for a few dollars?"

"You know what, there is. Why don't you come on in?"

Audrey opened the door completely so that Lumpy could come inside. When he stepped in, he saw that Dot and Lotta were on the floor of their living room, surrounding a rather large playset. When they looked up, they saw that he had arrived.

"Hi, Lumpy!" said Dot and Lotta.

"Hi, girls!" Lumpy greeted them as well. "What can I do for you?"

"We were trying to set up this awesome new playset that we won from the pizza place," said Audrey.

"Yes, but it has well over a thousand different pieces that are required for assembly," Dot mentioned.

Lumpy looked at her, apparently not knowing what she meant.

"That means there's a lot of pieces for us to put together, and we're not sure we can do it," Lotta said, simplifying Dot's speech.

"Could you do us a favor and help us put this thing together?" Audrey asked.

Lumpy smiled and nodded. "Sure! Anything for you girls!"

Lumpy went over to where Dot and Lotta were, kneeled down next to them and helped them get to work. Indeed, there were quite a few different pieces he and the Harvey Girls had to put together. But Lumpy read the instructions that were included with the playset so he would know exactly where what piece should go.

"I believe that belongs there," said Dot when Lumpy picked up a piece.

"And 'there' is right over here," said Lotta.

Lumpy moved each piece to wherever the instructions wanted them, and whenever he got stuck, each of the Harvey Girls provided him hints on where to put them. Of course, that didn't mean they were left out of putting it together as well; Lumpy sometimes handed them the instructions for them to look at as well.

Finally, the playset was completed, and all of the Harvey Girls smiled in joy. Lumpy was smiling as well; he was quite impressed with how the completed playset looked, and he could tell his hard work was beginning to pay off already.

"Oh, Lumpy! This playset looks fantastic!" Lotta said.

"Indeed. I'm looking forward to the hours of fun we'll have with this," Dot said in agreement.

"And it wouldn't even be halfway done without you!" said Audrey. "Thank you SO much for helping us put it together!"

"Yes, thank you!" Dot and Lotta replied in unison.

Lumpy blushed. "You're welcome, girls. I think I deserve a little reward for getting it exactly right, don't you think?"

Audrey, Dot and Lotta all smiled. They reached behind their backs and each produced a dollar bill - except for Audrey, who pulled out three - and then they all offered these dollars to Lumpy. He smiled and took them gently, placing the dollars in his wallet afterward.

"Thank you, girls!" said Lumpy. "I think my work here is done."

The Girls nodded in agreement, and then waved goodbye to Lumpy as he made his way out of the trailer. As he walked away, he checked the time on his phone. It was about three o'clock, so he still had some time to help others. He put away his phone and made his way over to a familiar house.

It was the house that was white with purple windows and roofing. Lumpy made his way up to the front door and pressed his forefinger against the doorbell, causing the chimes to play. Before a minute had gone by, the door had opened to reveal Tootie, one of Lumpy's favorite friends.

"Hi, Lumpy!" said Tootie.

"Hi, Tootie!" replied Lumpy. "I was wondering if I could do something for you. I'm trying to earn a little more money."

"Oh, sure, Lumpy," Tootie replied. "Why don't you come on in?"

Lumpy did as he was told, and then Tootie closed the door.

"I really want to play with one of my stuffed unicorn toys, but I just can't find it," Tootie stated. "I haven't seen my favorite book in a while, either. Do you think you could find them for me?"

"Sure, Tootie," said Lumpy. "What does your unicorn look like? Oh, and what's your favorite book, while you're at it?"

"The unicorn I'm looking for is white with blue eyes, and a pink and blue mane and tail," Tootie explained. "And my favorite book is the Harvey Street Kids storybook, What Makes You Hic."

"Don't worry, Tootie, I'll definitely find them," Lumpy promised her, which made her smile.

Lumpy looked everywhere in Tootie's house - in the living room, the kitchen, the upstairs and downstairs bathroom, her parents' bedroom and her own bedroom. It took him quite a few minutes of searching, but finally he found both of the things Tootie had asked for. The unicorn toy had been underneath her bed, unseen due to the edges of her blankets covering the bottom of the bed, and the book had been underneath one of the easy chairs in the living room. Lumpy sighed with contentment and brought the toy unicorn and book to Tootie.

"Oh, thank you, Lumpy!" said Tootie. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, Tootie," Lumpy replied.

Tootie placed her unicorn and book on the couch so she would know where to find them, and then briefly went upstairs into her room. When she came down again, she was holding two quarters in her right hand. She placed both of them into Lumpy's own hand.

"It's not much, but it's all I have," Tootie said. "Is that okay with you?"

"Of course!" said Lumpy. "Thank you, Tootie. As they say, every little bit helps."

"Well, you're not wrong," Tootie replied in agreement.

A few minutes later, Lumpy made his way out of Tootie's house, waving goodbye to her as she waved to him as well. As Lumpy was walking, he saw that the sun was getting close to the horizon. Even though it was still daytime, it was starting to get late.

"Well, I guess I've had enough work for today," Lumpy said to himself.

He pulled out his wallet, opened it up and began to count his money. Including the dollar and 53 cents that he'd started with, he now had 25 dollars and fifty three cents. Lumpy smiled.

"I can afford to eat tonight."

Lumpy walked back into town, listening to the birds sing as he did so. He made his way to the grocery store and began shopping, listening to the music that played over the intercoms as he did so.

Lumpy bought some food for himself; a box of frozen waffles, a bottle of his favorite pancake mix, two packs of bacon, two boxes of crackers, and a little pack of individually wrapped cheese slices. It wasn't until he picked out three containers of his favorite brand of macaroni and cheese, however, did he finally decide he couldn't spend any more money. He brought his cart over to the checkout aisle and allowed all of his groceries to be scanned and bagged.

The total amount was just over 20 dollars, but Lumpy gave every one of his dollars to the cashier and accepted the change he received. It wasn't because he wanted his dollar bills gone, but because he wanted some more coins for his coin bank. Then he put his cart away, took the bags that held his groceries and brought them out of the store. By the time he had gotten home, the sun was setting.

Lumpy brought his groceries into the kitchen and put everything away - the waffles and bowls of macaroni and cheese in the freezer, the pancake mix, bacon and cheese slices in the fridge, and the crackers in the cupboard. As he finished, he felt his stomach growl. He looked up at the clock, seeing it was close to five in the evening.

"I think I know what I'd like to eat for dinner," Lumpy said as he placed his hand on his belly.

He brought one of the containers of macaroni and cheese out of the freezer, and then followed the instructions on how to cook it. After poking some holes through the plastic wrap, he heated it up a couple of times in the microwave, making sure to stir every few minutes. The scent of the delicious macaroni and cheese filled the kitchen, bringing a persistent smile to his face.

Finally, his meal was ready. Lumpy brought his macaroni and cheese to the table, sat down, picked up his fork and began to eat. His dinner was delicious, and he took his time to make it last, making sure no piece of macaroni or puddle of cheese was left behind.

When Lumpy had finished eating, he sighed in contentment and wiped his mouth with a napkin. As he did the latter action, however, a yawn escaped from him, and he brought his hand up to cover his mouth. It was getting late, and soon it would be time for him to go to bed. Lumpy threw out the empty container, then placed his fork in the sink to wash tomorrow. Then he went up the stairs, placed his wallet and phone where he could find them, placed his remaining coins in his coin bank, and finally headed into the bathroom.

Lumpy took a warm shower, not unlike how he did this morning, and made sure every part of his body was cleaned off thoroughly. Then he stepped out of the shower, dried himself off with the warmest towels he had, and brushed his teeth. The minty fresh aroma of his toothpaste filled his mouth, even as he rinsed his mouth out with water and spat it out into the sink.

At last, as he wiped his mouth with his hand, Lumpy headed into his bedroom. He changed into his pajamas, buttoned them up, and crawled into his bed. He pulled the covers up over himself, and then lay where he was, feeling comfortable. He stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, blinking here and there, but at long last, his eyelids fell closed. As he fell asleep, Lumpy could hear the crickets chirping outside.

Even though Lumpy would have to work some more tomorrow to keep money flowing in, he was looking forward to helping out his friends again. Aside from helping his friendships with Lucretia and FruFru - and perhaps a few others - improve, he loved being rewarded for helping them out, whether he needed to make ends meet or not. Besides, as he told Tootie earlier today, every little bit would help.


End file.
